Method and system for determining a destination in a mobile radio

Abstract

A method ( 70 ) and system ( 11 ) of determining a destination can include obtaining ( 72 ) at least one identifier among a phone number, a dispatch identifier, a mobile internet protocol address, an instant messaging user identifier, an e-mail address, or other identifier having mobility management information, mapping ( 74 ) the at least one identifier to an approximate physical location, and selectively retrieving ( 76 ) the approximate physical location corresponding to the at least one identifier. For example, mapping can be done by mapping the phone number to a physical address provided by white pages or yellow pages from on-line phonebooks or by mapping to location services (such as GPS or network based locating services) available at a cellular phone, dispatch radio, or wireless internet protocol device. Mapping can include mapping at least one among the IM user identifier or the e-mail address to a PSTN, a dispatch identifier or an internet protocol address.

1 . A method of determining a destination using a mobile radio, comprising the steps of: 
 obtaining at least one identifier among a phone number, a dispatch identifier, a mobile internet protocol address, an instant messaging user identifier, an electronic mail address, a group communication identifier, or other identifier having mobility management information;    mapping the at least one identifier to an approximate physical location; and    selectively retrieving the approximate physical location corresponding to the at least one identifier using a user interface on the mobile radio.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of mapping the phone number to a white-pages or yellow-pages phonebook to obtain the approximate physical location.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of mapping the phone number to location services available at one among a cellular phone, a dispatch radio, or a wireless Internet Protocol device.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the location services is selected among global positioning services and network based locating services.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of mapping at least one among the instant messaging user identifier or the electronic mail address to a public switched telephone network, a dispatch identifier or an internet protocol address.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of presenting to the end user an option of following an originating number or a forwarding number when the phone number being called is using a call forwarding service.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface comprises at least one among a menu displayed on a screen using a softkey for selection of the at least one identifier or a dedicated key on a keypad of the mobile phone.  
     
     
         8 . A system for determining a destination using a mobile radio, comprising: 
 a transceiver; and    a processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is programmed to: 
 obtain at least one identifier among a phone number, a dispatch identifier, a mobile internet protocol address, an instant messaging user identifier, an electronic mail address, a group communication identifier, or other identifier having mobility management information;  
 map the at least one identifier to an approximate physical location; and  
 selectively retrieve the approximate physical location for the at least one identifier by using a user interface on the mobile radio.  
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further programmed to map the phone number to a white-pages or a yellow-pages phonebook to obtain the approximate physical location.  
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further programmed to map the phone number to location services available at one among a cellular phone, a dispatch radio, or a wireless Internet Protocol device.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the location services is selected among global positioning services and network based locating services.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further programmed to map at least one among the instant messaging user identifier or the electronic mail address to a public switched telephone network, a dispatch identifier or an internet protocol address.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further programmed to present to the end user an option of following an originating number or a forwarding number when the phone number being called is using a call forwarding service.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the user interface comprises at least one among a menu displayed on a screen using a softkey for selection of the at least one identifier or a dedicated key on a keypad of the mobile phone.  
     
     
         15 . A machine readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of: 
 obtaining at least one identifier among a phone number, a dispatch identifier, a mobile internet protocol address, an instant messaging user identifier, an electronic mail address, a group communication identifier, or other identifier having mobility management information;    mapping the at least one identifier to an approximate physical location; and    selectively retrieving the approximate physical location for the at least one identifier by using a user interface on a mobile radio.    
     
     
         16 . The machine readable storage of  claim 15 , wherein the computer program further has a plurality of code sections executable by the machine for causing the machine to perform the step of mapping the phone number to a white-pages or yellow-pages phonebook to obtain the approximate physical location.  
     
     
         17 . The machine readable storage of  claim 15 , wherein the computer program further has a plurality of code sections executable by the machine for causing the machine to perform the step of mapping the phone number to location services available at one among a cellular phone, a dispatch radio, or a wireless Internet Protocol device.  
     
     
         18 . The machine readable storage of  claim 15 , wherein the computer program further has a plurality of code sections executable by the machine for causing the machine to perform the step of mapping at least one among the instant messaging user identifier or the electronic mail address to a public switched telephone network, a dispatch identifier or an internet protocol address.  
     
     
         19 . The machine readable storage of  claim 15 , wherein the computer program further has a plurality of code sections executable by the machine for causing the machine to perform the step of presenting to the end user an option of following an originating number or a forwarding number when the phone number being called is using a call forwarding service.